Bureaucracies as Regulators

1. Bureaucracies as Regulators

2. Bureaucracies as Regulators • Regulation in the Economy and in Everyday Life • Regulation: use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector • A Full Day of Regulation • Federal agencies check, verify, and inspect many of the products and services we take for granted. • Federal and state agencies provide many services.

3. Bureaucracies as Regulators • Regulation: How It Grew, How It Works • All regulation contains these elements: • A grant of power and set of directions from Congress • A set of rules and guidelines by the regulatory agency itself • Some means of enforcing compliance with congressional goals and agency regulations

4. Bureaucracies as Regulators • Regulation: How It Grew, How It Works • Command-and-Control Policy: The government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks the progress, and punishes offenders. • Incentive System: market-like strategies used to manage public policy • Some agencies are proactive; some are reactive.

5. Bureaucracies as Regulators • Toward Deregulation • Deregulation: the lifting of restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities • Regulatory problems: • Raises prices • Hurts U.S.’s competitive position abroad • Does not always work well • But some argue regulation is needed

6. Understanding Bureaucracies • Bureaucracy and Democracy • Presidents Try to Control the Bureaucracy • Appoint the right people • Issue executive orders • Carry force of law and are used to implement policies • Alter an agency’s budget • Reorganize an agency • Creation of Department of Homeland Security

7. Understanding Bureaucracies • Bureaucracy and Democracy • Congress Tries to Control the Bureaucracy • Influence appointment of agency heads • Senate confirms presidential nominees • Alter an agency’s budget • Hold oversight hearings • Rewrite legislation or make it more detailed

8. Understanding Bureaucracies • Bureaucracy and Democracy • Iron Triangles and Issue Networks • Iron Triangles: a mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees • Exist independently of each other • They are tough, but not impossible, to get rid of • Some argue they are being replaced by wider issue networks that focus on more than one policy.

9. Understanding Bureaucracies

10. Understanding Bureaucracies • Bureaucracy and the Scope of Government • The size of federal bureaucracy is an example of a government out of control. • Even though the size of the bureaucracy has shrunk • Some agencies don’t have enough resources to do what they are expected to do. • Bureaucracy only carries out policies; Congress and the president decide what needs to be done.

11. Summary • Bureaucrats shape policy as administrators, implementers, and regulators. • Bureaucracy’s primary responsibility is the implementation of public policy. • Federal bureaucracy has not grown but has in fact shrunk of late.